Making or Answering Cell Phone Calls while Driving is more Dangerous than Texting as Shown by National Safety Council Data

As early as March 2014, 245,358 car accidents were already registered in the U.S. National Safety Council’s (NSC) website. These too many accidents, however, includes only those that were due to the use of a cell phone while driving. The number could definitely be higher since many drivers, according to NSC, never admit to having used their cell phone prior to the accident. (The NSC is nonprofit organization founded in 1913; it was chartered by the U.S. Congress for the purpose of saving lives through the prevention of injuries and deaths at work, in communities, in homes and on the road through leadership, advocacy, education and research. The NSC records all traffic accidents that occur on both public roads and private properties in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia).

Drivers have always been informed about the risk of using their cell phone while behind the wheel. Yet, despite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) ads, signs and posters, and educational campaigns that tell of the dangers of cell phone while driving, the number of accidents and deaths only continued to rise, making it necessary for the NHTSA to pass an anti-texting-while-driving law. Some states even went further, issuing a ban on the use of all types of text-based communications devices, including computers, which can be used to send email and text messages.

While concentrating much of the effort on preventing accidents due to texting while driving, the NSC comes up with a data which shows that 26% of all car accidents in the year 2012 were due to cell phone use while driving. The surprising thing about it is that only 5% of all cell phone-related crashes happened because the driver was texting; the other 21% occurred while the driver was talking on hands-free or handheld cell phones.

Thus, contrary to the belief that texting while driving was the more dangerous compared to talking on the phone, the NSC informs (and warns) drivers about the greater danger presented by the latter, as proven by the data.

Drivers, especially teenagers and young adults who often ignore the reminders and the law and, so, figure more often in accidents due to cell phone use, ought to realize the consequences of their actions. The personal injury (injury sustained by someone due to their negligence) they can cause others to suffer, can very well result to civil lawsuits that can require them to pay compensatory damages to the victim. In his website, personal injury lawyer Joe Miller condemns this careless and unconcerned behavior of guilty drivers, while advising victims not to delay in consulting a highly-qualified legal professional for the immediate legal actions that they will need to file to bring the liable party to justice.

Regardless of who the person behind the wheel is, a car accident taking place due to reasons such as negligence, carelessness and distraction, can be avoided. For victims, one important thing they should consider after an accident is hiring a seasoned personal injury lawyer, who may be able to help them get the compensation that the law may entitle them to receive.

According to a website with address: alimokaramconcussionlawyer.com, “Compensation or commonly referred to as damages, can be divided into two categories, punitive or compensatory damages. Punitive damages are penalties that a judge will award to the plaintiff that is specifically designed to punish the defendant for their heinous acts. These damages are typically reserved for cases involving tort law and are often used to deter the defendant from doing the act again. On the contrary, compensatory damages are designed to help the plaintiff to pay for the costs of recovering after the injury. These damages often include things such as lost wages, property damages, and lawyer fees.”